Pan's Labyrinth is set in Spain in 1944, during the Francoist period, following Ofelia as her young life is interrupted by a magical labyrinth.

Pan’s Labyrinth came out in 2006 to much critical acclaim, starring Ivana Baquero as Ofelia, the protagonist whose young life is interrupted by the discovery of a fantastical world based in an abandoned labyrinth. A Spanish-Mexican fantasy drama, the movie was directed by Guillermo del Toro. The story is set in Spain in 1944, during the Francoist period, and follows Ofelia as she and her pregnant mother (Ariadna Gil) move to the property of Captain Vidal (Sergi López), a Falangist captain and Ofelia's stepfather. Ofelia meets several magical creatures, including fairies as well as a faun (Doug Jones) who tells her that she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna, whose father is king of the underworld.

The king supposedly built labyrinths all around the world in preparation for her return, and the faun and fairies guide Ofelia in completing three tasks so that she can return there. Ofelia completes the first task—retrieving a key from the belly of a giant toad—early on. The key is necessary for the second task, in which Ofelia retrieves a dagger from the lair of a horrifying child-eating monster, known as the Pale Man. While all of this is happening, Ofelia is dealing with a terrifying reality; her mother is ill in her pregnancy, and eventually dies after her baby boy is born, and Vidal maliciously hunts down rebels and acts menacingly toward Ofelia herself.

For the third task, the faun has Ofelia bring her baby brother to the labyrinth. She is told she must spill the blood of an innocent creature, but refuses to harm him. Reality enters the labyrinth as Vidal finds Ofelia, takes the baby, and shoots her. Ofelia’s own bloods spills into the center of the labyrinth and, as she dies, we see her awaken as Princess Moanna, unharmed and clean, inside a golden room where the king and queen of the underworld sit. The faun also appears, and explains that because she spilled her own blood rather than that of an innocent, she passed the final test.

What Happened To Ofelia In Pan's Labyrinth?

While seeing Ofelia's reincarnation as Princess Moanna can be seen as a happy ending, it can be argued that the fantastical elements of Ofelia’s story were imagined—that she took refuge in a fantastical story to escape the harshness of her reality. After all, the first time she sees a fairy is as she reluctantly leaves her home to live with Vidal; similarly, Ofelia’s eagerness to complete the three tasks symbolize her yearning to be with her late father. During the second task, Ofelia eats food from the Pale Man’s table—against clear instructions—and the faun scolds her for her disobedience, leaving her crying. This could be symbolic of the guilt Ofelia feels at having food and shelter while others suffer in postwar turmoil.

A notable part of the movie is when Ofelia places a magical mandrake root under her mother’s bed, which the faun explained would ease the complications of her pregnancy. This shows how eager Ofelia is to rid her mother of pain. And, on a similar note, the giant toad—a parasite killing the tree it was living inside—is perhaps a symbol of Ofelia’s baby brother. Ultimately, Ofelia’s magical trips to the labyrinth could have easily been imagined by her, to act as a distraction from a life she did not want to grow up in. Still, some say the magic was real, and that the ending of Pan's Labyrinth simply portrayed Ofelia assuming her fate and becoming the princess she was destined to be.

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